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National NAACP suspends Frank J. Thornton, Henrico Branch president
In an extraordinary action, national NAACP President Derrick Johnson has suspended for a year the membership of Frank J. Thornton, president of the Henrico Branch NAACP and son of Frank Thornton, chairman of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors.
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VMHC to spotlight civil rights hero Curtis Harris and Great Dismal Swamp
The Virginia Museum of History and Culture will feature the following films at part of its Black History Month programming:
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GRTC seasonal service to Kings Dominion starts May 23
GRTC is again providing seasonal express services from Downtown and South Side to the Kings Dominion amusement park in Doswell. The daily service is scheduled to start Saturday, May 23, and will continue through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7, according to GRTC officials.
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Former School Board member mounts campaign to oust principal
How much influence should parents and the community wield in deciding who should run a public school? That question is at the heart of a dispute over the leadership of Blackwell Elementary School on South Side.
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City Hall offers some reforms on tax collections
Amid the uproar over meals-tax collections, City Hall is rolling out a multiple-step plan in a bid to ease complaints.
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Candidates contend for school board seats amid increasingly politicized backdrop
All 140 seats in the General Assembly are up for election this year — but that’s not the only thing Virginians will be voting for on Election Day. Nearly 600 candidates are vying for school board seats over an increasingly politicized backdrop. Most of the school board races in more populous areas are contested, but a majority of the races are uncontested, according to a Cardinal News analysis. In some districts the candidates have been endorsed by political parties, although the candidates run as independents.
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As diversity, equity and inclusion comes under legal attack, companies quietly alter their programs
Sophia Danner-Okotie’s has ambitious plans for her Nigerian-inspired clothing line but a sense of dread has punctured her optimism as she watches a legal battle being waged against a small venture capital firm that has provided funding instrumental to her boutique brand’s growth.
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Legal freedom fighters
At 75, ODBA’s struggle for justice continues
When black lawyers from across Virginia gathered in Richmond last week to mark the 75th anniversary of the Old Dominion Bar Association, far more than nostalgia was on their minds.
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Showing up and showing out
HBCU football attracted more fans this season
Football attendance was way up this season at Norfolk State University and Hampton University.
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New UR program offers beer brewer certificate
Responding to the explosion of breweries in Central Virginia, the University of Richmond will begin offering this fall a yearlong program to train professional brewers.
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VSU opens football season in Norfolk at Labor Day clasic
Virginia State University hopes to start its 2018 football season the same way it opened the 2017 season — by defeating Norfolk State University in the Labor Day Classic.
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Underfunding education can be undone
Like past state leaders, Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin loves to talk about the importance of education and the need for a quality public school system.
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Boxing great Marvelous Marvin Hagler dies at 66
Marvelous Marvin Hagler stopped Thomas Hearns in a fight that lasted less than eight minutes yet was so epic that it still lives in boxing lore. Two years later, he was so disgusted after losing a decision to Sugar Ray Leonard — stolen, he claimed, by the judges — that he never fought again.
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Women power
Military veteran becomes first-time homeowner through Habitat initiative
Spring Cambric broke down in tears as she stood surrounded by family and friends last Saturday on the front porch of her new North Side home.
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Investing in people and communities, by Ben Jealous
President Biden and the Democratic Congress have come through with a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package — something the previous president repeatedly promised but never delivered.
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Richmond area toy drives and distribution
Christmas drives are underway to try to ensure that children in struggling families receive gifts.
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Henrico CARES aims to strengthen youth mental health services
Henrico County and Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS) are implementing the Henrico CARES plan with the goal to increase availability of mental health services in schools and to expand efforts of prevention, support, and early and intensive intervention for youth mental health, substance abuse and violence.
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Center awaits end of bankruptcy
The 300-member Richmond Christian Center is poised to leave bankruptcy after nearly two years, with the finances of the South Side church restored.
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Woodland, Evergreen cemeteries for sale
A Richmond foundation is pursuing the purchase of two historic, but privately held African-American cemeteries, the Free Press has learned.